By Steve Hunt, Owner & Lead Designer at Infinity Kitchens and Baths
Updated September 22, 2026 • 9 min read
Quick answer: The storage upgrades that pay off most are deep drawer banks instead of base cabinets with doors, a tall pantry cabinet with pull-outs, and a real corner solution such as a lazy Susan or blind-corner pull-out. After those, add a trash and recycling pull-out, vertical tray dividers and an appliance garage. Plan them into the cabinet layout from the start, because most of them are built into the boxes, not added later.
Most kitchens do not lack space so much as usable space: shelves you have to kneel to reach, a corner cabinet nobody opens, a pantry where cans disappear behind other cans. A remodel is the best chance to fix that at the source, because storage is decided when the cabinets are laid out, not when the shelves are loaded.
Here are the storage and pantry ideas we build in most often, ranked by how much everyday difference they make. Many are cabinet options, so the line you choose matters: our custom vs. RTA cabinets comparison explains which interior options are easier to get in semi-custom and custom lines.
1 Deep Drawer Banks
Best single upgrade for base cabinets
Replace door-and-shelf base cabinets with stacks of wide, deep drawers. Instead of kneeling and digging, you pull the drawer out and look down at everything: pots, pans, lids, mixing bowls, even dishes. Our kitchen cabinets page calls deep drawers one of the most popular upgrades clients choose once they see them in the CAD layout, and we agree.
Specify full-extension, soft-close slides so you can reach the back of the drawer, and good drawer boxes that will carry the weight of cast iron for years. If you store dishes low, a peg-board insert keeps plates from sliding.
Pros
Everything visible and reachable
Easier on backs and knees
Watch-outs
Costs more than a door-and-shelf box
2 Tall Pull-Out Pantry Cabinet
Best pantry for kitchens without a pantry closet
A floor-to-ceiling cabinet with roll-out trays or a full-height pull-out frame. It fits a lot of food in a small footprint, and pull-outs mean nothing gets lost at the back. It is the answer for most small and mid-size kitchens that have no room for a walk-in.
Roll-out trays inside a door are the most flexible; a full pull-out unit gives access from both sides. Place it at the end of a run, near the refrigerator or prep zone, and make sure its door can open fully without hitting an appliance or wall.
Pros
Big storage in a narrow footprint
Nothing hides at the back
Watch-outs
Heavy pull-outs need quality slides
Uses wall space you might want for counters
3 Reach-In Pantry Wall
Best for open-concept kitchens that lost their uppers
A wall of tall cabinets, or a shallow closet with doors, dedicated to food and small appliances. Shallow shelving is the secret: food one or two cans deep is visible and easy to reach, while a deep closet shelf becomes a black hole.
This is the fix we most often recommend when a wall comes down to open a kitchen. Our open-concept vs. traditional comparison explains why: walls hold cabinets, and a reach-in pantry elsewhere makes up for the lost uppers.
Pros
Lots of storage with shallow, visible shelves
Hides clutter behind doors
Watch-outs
Needs a full wall or closet
4 Walk-In Pantry
Best for larger kitchens and serious bulk buyers
A small room lined with shelves. It holds the most, and it can take small appliances, a second refrigerator or bulk goods that never fit in a cabinet. For households that shop in bulk or that live farther from town, a walk-in is hard to beat.
It also needs the most space, and it only works with good lighting and shelving no deeper than you can see into. If you have to borrow the space from another room, compare it honestly with a reach-in pantry wall; many homeowners find the reach-in holds nearly as much and is easier to keep organized.
Pros
Maximum capacity
Room for appliances and bulk goods
Watch-outs
Takes the most floor area
Deep corners become clutter
5 Corner Solutions
Best fix for the most wasted space in the kitchen
Every L and U kitchen has an inside corner, and a plain corner cabinet is a dead zone. The options are a lazy Susan turntable, a blind-corner pull-out that swings or slides contents out to you, or a set of corner drawers. Our small kitchen page calls a well-installed lazy Susan or blind-corner pull-out one of the most-used storage spots in a kitchen.
Which one fits depends on the corner type and your cabinet line, so decide during layout, not after the boxes arrive.
Pros
Recovers space you already paid for
Watch-outs
Mechanisms add cost
Some corners fit only certain units
6 Trash and Recycling Pull-Out
Best everyday convenience upgrade
Two bins on a slide-out frame inside a base cabinet, usually next to the sink or in the island where you prep. It keeps garbage off the floor and out of sight, and one pull sorts trash from recycling.
Put it within a step of the sink and the main prep zone, and not next to the dishwasher door, where two people can’t use both at once. A door-mounted pull-out or a full-height drawer front both work.
Pros
Out of sight, right where you work
Sorts trash and recycling
Watch-outs
Uses a full base cabinet
7 Appliance Garage
Best for clearing the counter of small appliances
A countertop-level cabinet with a lift-up, pocket or tambour door that hides the mixer, toaster, coffee maker and blender. Plug them in inside and slide them out when you need them. Our 2026 trends guide lists appliance garages and coffee stations with integrated outlets among the features that are growing.
Plan the outlets and the depth before the countertop is templated, and give heat-producing appliances enough clearance to be pulled out to use rather than run inside the cabinet.
Pros
Clean counters
Appliances stay plugged in and ready
Watch-outs
Needs electrical planning
Uses counter length
8 Vertical Tray Dividers and Spice Pull-Outs
Best for baking sheets, boards and spices
Vertical dividers in a narrow cabinet store baking sheets, cutting boards and trays on edge, so you can pull out one without lifting the stack. A narrow pull-out beside the range holds spices, oils and cooking tools exactly where you need them. Our cabinets page lists both as standard ideas we design in.
They are a smart use of the filler-width spaces left at the ends of runs, which would otherwise be blank panels.
Pros
Uses narrow leftover spaces
Keeps the most-used items at hand
Watch-outs
Only fits narrow items
9 Drawer Organizers and Inserts
Best low-cost way to make drawers work harder
Built-in utensil trays, knife blocks, spice inserts and adjustable dividers keep drawers organized so everything has a place. Custom-fit inserts use the full drawer instead of leaving gaps around a store-bought tray.
They are inexpensive relative to what they add, and many cabinet lines offer them as options. Decide what goes in each drawer during design, and size the inserts accordingly.
Pros
Inexpensive
Easy to add to most lines
Watch-outs
Fixed inserts are hard to rearrange later
10 Cabinets to the Ceiling
Best for kitchens with tall ceilings
If your uppers stop short of the ceiling, the gap above them collects dust and wastes space. Running cabinets all the way up, often with a second row of short cabinets on top, adds storage for seasonal and rarely used items and makes the room look taller. Our small kitchen page recommends pairing it with pull-down shelf systems for the highest cabinets.
Keep a step stool handy, and put the things you use daily between hip and shoulder height, especially if you plan to age in place.
Pros
More storage, no extra floor
Room looks taller
Watch-outs
Top shelves need a step stool
11 Island Storage
Best for kitchens with room for an island
Because you can reach an island from more than one side, it can hold storage that is awkward elsewhere: deep drawers on the working side, cookbooks or display shelves on the seating side, a trash center, or a charging drawer. Our kitchen island ideas guide covers the options.
The rule that governs islands still applies: keep at least 36 inches of walkway on every side, and check that island drawers and nearby appliance doors can open fully at the same time.
Pros
Storage on more than one side
Keeps prep tools in the prep zone
Watch-outs
Only if the room can hold the clearances
How to Plan Kitchen Storage
Start with an inventory, not a catalog. List what you store now, what never fits, and what lives on the counter that you would rather hide. Then assign zones: prep (knives, boards, bowls) near the main counter, cooking (pots, spices, oils) around the range, cleanup (trash, dish soap, dishes) near the sink and dishwasher, and food storage near the refrigerator. The storage ideas above slot into those zones.
Two budget notes from our kitchen cabinet cost guide: every pull-out, drawer stack and specialty cabinet is priced as its own box, so when you compare bids, make sure they include the same accessories; and soft-close, full-extension drawer hardware is the upgrade homeowners notice every day, so it is usually worth prioritizing over fancier doors.
Local Notes
Many homeowners we work with in Prescott, Prescott Valley and the West Valley retirement communities plan to stay in their homes for the long haul. For them, we move everyday storage out of low cabinets and into drawers and pull-outs, keep high cabinets for rarely used items, and choose pulls that are easy to grip. Our aging-in-place remodeling page covers more. If you are comparing who should design and build it, see our lists of top kitchen and bath remodelers in Prescott Valley and top cabinet installers in Prescott.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best way to add storage to a small kitchen?
Replace base cabinets with deep drawers, add a tall pull-out pantry cabinet, fix the corner with a lazy Susan or blind-corner pull-out, and run upper cabinets to the ceiling. Those four changes usually add the most usable storage without adding floor space.
Is a walk-in pantry better than a pantry cabinet?
A walk-in pantry holds the most and can fit small appliances and bulk goods, but it needs a lot of floor area. A tall pull-out pantry cabinet or a reach-in pantry wall with shallow shelves holds a surprising amount, keeps everything visible, and fits most kitchens. For small and mid-size kitchens we usually recommend the cabinet or reach-in.
Are drawers better than cabinets for base storage?
For most base storage, yes. Deep drawers with full-extension slides bring everything to you, so you do not have to kneel and reach into the back of a cabinet. They cost more than a door-and-shelf cabinet, but they are the upgrade homeowners notice every day.
What do you do with a blind corner cabinet?
Install a corner mechanism: a lazy Susan turntable, a blind-corner pull-out that brings contents out of the corner, or corner drawers. The right option depends on the corner shape and your cabinet line, so it should be chosen when the layout is designed.
Where should a trash pull-out go?
Put it within a step of the sink and the main prep area, often in the base cabinet next to the sink or in the island. Avoid placing it where its door and the dishwasher door block each other.
We measure your kitchen, go through what you store, and design drawers, pull-outs and pantry space into the CAD layout before anything is ordered. The consultation is free.
Owner & Lead Designer, Infinity Kitchens and Baths — AZ ROC #339999
Steve founded Infinity Kitchens and Baths in Prescott in 2011 and still personally oversees every project the company takes on. His background spans kitchen design, bathroom renovation, structural work and project management, and he has called Prescott home for more than two decades — which is why most of Infinity's work still arrives by referral.